Recruiting for Solo 4E (mostly) homebrew campaign: Arca Terra

[FloatingDisc]

EDIT: Recruitment is now closed! Thanks to Dire Lemming, Warlock Lord and Braydz for throwing down the gauntlet and entering a world of pain, and also to everyone else who submitted such fantastic characters! You can see how our brave heroes are faring HERE!

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Hi, I'm looking to run a fun game set in a homebrewed world of my own devising using the 4E rules and character classes. I've never run a PbP game before, and 4E is (obviously) new to me, but I've DMed a fair bit IRL so it shouldn't be too hard. The game will (hopefully) be a good mix of roleplaying and action - I'd really like to come out with something worthy of a good Story Hour. I like to play in the sort of games that would make a good read for someone else.

I'd prefer any applicants to be able to post at least every couple of days. Won't be too fussy, I might even break my own rules from time to time. Another thing - my work commitments will likely be changing quite dramatically some time in the coming days/weeks, so posting may become somewhat erratic.

I would be happy for a potential player to have two or even three characters acting as party, use your imagination! If a concept strikes you after reading through the info below that would work better as a small party, hit me. At this stage, stats are not required, just post your concept.

Also, the setting is still largely under construction, and any input anyone wants to offer is very welcome! You don't need to read all the stuff below, but some of it might just give you some inspiration for your character.

Setting Information
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The setting has a place for every race and class from the 4E PHB, including any newly released stuff from WotC (illusion, warforged and artificer are all I'm aware of so far, but let me know if there's something I've missed). All dieties from the book have a place as well.

The World Itself...
Arca Terra is a world that lies near the confluence of planes, a kind of weak point in the fabric of reality. On the largest continent (on which the campaign takes place) exist several nation-states, some of whom war with one-another, and others that try to coexist peacefully. The continent, known as Arcus, has deserts, forests, snowy peaks, desolate tundra and everything in between, and is home to all the playable races.

At the centre of the continent lies an enormous plateau, a hundred or so kilometres in diameter and rising some two or three kilometres above the surrounding desert. At the top of the plateau, a constant storm rages, and that is all most people know of the place.

At the centre of the plateau lies a crater some five kilometres across and a hundred metres deep. This is the site of a meteorite impact several centuries ago. The meteorite now lies in myriad pieces of all shapes and sizes across the plateau, and is possessed of many strange properties. In essence, anything crafted from the ore of the meteorite possesses magical qualities, sometimes major and, more often, minor, but never exactly the same. After the meteorite's impact (and after it's properties were discovered) a war ensued between the nations of Arcus, all seeking to control the precious substance. Almost all of the ore from the meteorite was mined from the plateau, and the plateau itself was left a desolate, eery place plagued by mysterious magical disturbances, not to mention extra-planar incursions.

Each nation managed to find a different use for the substance. The dwarves in the polar north forged it into adamantium. The Elves and Eladrin made it into mithril. Gnomish craftsmen crafted incredible flying machines from the stuff.
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Some History
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Generations after the coming of the meteorite, a legion of devils found a way to the material plane through the disturbed and damaged plateau. They established an outpost there and went seeking slaves, and came across a human empire that was thriving amongst the foothills of the plateau and in the inner desert. These were the people of Bael Turath, and under the influence of the Abyssal Horde, eventually became the tieflings of today.

The Abyssal outpost stood for some 1000 years, until the fledgling dragonborn empire of Arkhosia, in a bid for conquest of their own, went to war with the devils. The Arkhosians eventually conquered the infernal outpost, and subsequently attempted to subjugate the tiefling decendants of the people of Bael Turath. The slaves took up the weapons of the fallen devils and fought off the Arkhosians, much weakened from their war with the infernal legion.
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Generations later, where our story begins...
[sblock]The tieflings have become a people without a nation, with a great many escaping their prison atop the plateau and questing through the desert to the borderlands, where they sought refuge among the human populations there. The site of the infernal outpost is now the site of a mighty citadel constructed by those tieflings who have taken it upon themselves to guard Arca Terra against further infernal incursions.

The descendants of the dragonborn nation of Arkhosia still reside in their mighty desert fortresses, and are largely hated across the land for the slave raids they conduct on the other peoples of the desert, as well as those on the borderlands.
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The Peoples of Arca Terra
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Tieflings
Tieflings are a nationless people who do their best to make their way in a strange world. Many are beset by a kind of racial grief at their subservience to their former infernal legions, and have taken to the various religions of Arca Terra. Many serve as mercenaries and guards, but the most common image of a tiefling in the eyes of other races is that of the wandering paladin. They often become knight-errants of a sort, seeking to atone for their racial shame by their personal good deeds.

Dragonborn
The former dragonborn empire of Arkhosia was shattered after their war with Hell, and the remnants are now seen as little more than wild desert raiders. They ride out from their desert fortresses on bizarre, floating ships (powered by arcane means to become apparent during the story) to raid the human, kobold and goblinoid settlements of the borderlands. A dragonborn encountered outside the desert is most often regarded with outright hatred and fear, and those dragonborn who have forsaken their people often take great pains to try to disguise their heritage from others (no mean feat, obviously).

Dragonborn nobles often travel the dunes via a form of personal transport known as borra. These are magical artifacts based on the "Tenser's Floating Disk" spell. A borra rider stands upright on the disc and commands the craft via thought commands. The speed of the borra is limited only by the rider's ability to stay upright atop the fast-moving disc, and riders rarely manage to travel faster than a good riding horse. They are reserved purely for the nobility of the dragonborn clans. When inactive, the borra takes the form of a ring worn on the finger or toe, and is activated by a command word.

Gnomes
Gnomes came to Arca Terra as refugees several centuries ago. As such, they have no homeland to speak of, but are generally accepted everywhere. They are gifted inventors and engineers, and are responsible for devising the world-spanning zeppelin transport service. Almost every large city on the planet has a zeppelin tower now. Gnomish communities exist in most of these cities. There is a strong tradition of education among the gnomish clans, and they gnome parents see it as their duty to educate their own children. Most gnomes are very well-educated for this reason and often serve as scribes, court officials and in other public offices.

Elves & Eladrin
These two fey races still live largely in Faerie (think of it as identical to the Shadowfell - I just prefer the name), they only occassionally venture into the prime material world. They are really two varieties of the same creature: An eladrin is essentially a Fairy Prince, or Lord, and an elf is the kind of lesser fairy. Despite their homes being in Fairie, both fairy lords and lesser fairies are known to have adopted Arca Terra as their home, fascinated as they are by the inhabitants. Eladrin are generally forthright, practical (in their own queer, fey fashion) and extremely literal in their interpretation of things. Elves are more likely to have a sense of humour, even if it is bizarre and even cruel at times. They love the wild places in the world. Eladrin commonly come to Arca Terra as knights (think fighters with the wizard multiclass feat(s)), while elves are most suited to being rangers and rogues, as suits their nature.

Dwarves
Dwarves are the grim, gruff, gold-hungry miners of old. I still love the traditional dwarf, so I am happy for them to be played in a traditional way. Dwarves are uncommon among the people of the planes, preferring to stay in their snowy mountain strongholds, but occassionally come down to the plains seeking adventure, excitement, treasure or all three.

Humans
Human kingdoms are scattered all across Arcus, some exist on the fringes of the desert, other in the steamy jungles of Lacerda, still other roam the borderlands and foothills as crude barbarians. Just about any concept for a human character will have a home somewhere in the world.

Half-Elves
A half-elf is essentially a kind of lesser fairy who has spent so long on the prime material plane that they have begun to lose their ties to Fairie. They are otherwise as described as in the PHB. They tend to adopt some of the traditions and characteristics of the culture they have adopted, and are sometimes all but indistinguishable from the natives of that society.

Kobolds
Nomadic kobold tribes roam the deserts, travelling in extended family groups from oasis to oasis mostly as hunter-gatherers. Occassionally, kobold merchants turn up in the cities trading for weapons and equipment. A particularly prized piece of kobold equipment is a shield (or occassionally a breastplate for small creatures) made from the carved scale of a bullette. Male hunter-gatherer kobolds are often barbarians and rangers, and a tribal leader might be a warlord. The leader is often advised by a cleric. Kobolds are accepted in most other cultures as they are generally noble and courteous creatures. In some cultures they are derided for their cowardliness, but generally they receive at least a modicum of respect.

Halflings
I am happy for halflings to be played as they are described in the PHB. I haven't got a specific place in mind for them in the setting, and am completely open to any suggestions a potential player might have. I really love halflings (both the old and new versions of them) and although I haven't written them up, I have no problem with anyone wanting to play one.

Warforged
Warforged in this setting are known as Tirano. Rather than being constructs made of wood, stone and metal, Tirano (used for both singular and plural) are humanoid statues sculpted from the clay earth dug up from near the sight of the crater. Something about the earth has gifted them with anima, or the essence of life. They are equisitely sculpted humanoids with the colour and texture of terracotta. The hollows of their eyes and mouth are lit from within with a softly flickering yellow flame. Many Tirano adventurers take pains to conceal their nature from strangers, covering their bodies from head to toe in swathes of fabric, gloves, boots and broad-brimmed hats. There is something calm and patient about the Tirano, and many find themselves drawn to the lifestyle of a monk or cleric. Although not necessarilly fearsome in appearence, most people view them with suspicion, or at least curiosity.

Other races you might want to consider
If you have a strong concept for another race, particularly one listed in the back of the MM, hit me with it. I can certainly see goblinoids working well as a kind of barbaric outland wanderer, perhaps they have settlements in the hinterlands to the north below the mountaintop homes of the dwarves?

If any of the above descriptions don't fit what you have in mind, it is as simple as saying that your character comes from another land across the sea. While Arcus is the main continent on Arca Terra, it is by no means the only inhabited one.
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That's it for now, I'll have a think about what else to include.

Post any and all ideas you have, I value the input of anyone who takes the time to share their insights, and even if you have no interest in playing, I'd appreciate any thoughts you have on this fledgling setting as it stands so far!

 

[FloatingDisc]

Lacerda City - Where the adventure begins...

The adventure will begin in the capital of a borderlands city-state named Lacerda. Lacerda City is a thriving cultural melting pot sitting on the border of the dragon desert and the jungle kingdoms of the goblins. The capital stands on a man-made island in a lake, really just a wide-point in the Lacerda River, and is connected to the shores by a series of wooden and stone bridges, that are themselves inhabited by Lacerda City's poorest denizens. The far shores are populated with fishermen and farmers. The city itself is home to innumerable merchants, traders and noble families, and almost anything for sale in Arca Terra can be found in Lacerda. Bejewelled nobles of every species swarm through the streets born in litters and on wagons, while slaves (mostly human and goblinoid) hurry to and fro at their masters' behest. Scimitar-weilding guards keep the peace, when they're not too busy extorting shopkeepers and foreigners.

The body of water in the middle of which the city stands is named Faruta Lake, and is home to countless varieties of fish, as well as immense man-eating eels. Brave hunter take to the water in small skiffs and canoes, hunting the giant eels with spears. Fishermen prefer the relative safety of the shore, from where they cast nets.

Trade ships come up the river from the human kingdoms to the south, east and west, finding births amidst the tangled web of bridges and docks that connect Lacerda city with the mainland. Above the skyline juts a crudely built wooden tower where gnomish zeppelins dock form the four corners of the continent.

Lacerda is ruled from an immense and oppulent palace by Prince Darukan. There is constant scheming and treachery in the dangerous streets of the capital.

There are a number of customs that foreigners are expected to observe when visiting Lacerda City. Some are for practical or economic reasons, rather than cultural. Men, and sometimes women, of means are expected to own a pet. The most common are monkeys, ferrets and parrots, though other, more exotic creaures are occasionally sported by nobles. These include various varieties of small dogs and cats. Anyone that is not a slave is permitted to carry weapons, though a recent trend has seen some nobles leaving their traditional swords at home and employing one or two bodyguards instead. Nonetheless, the numerous weaponsmiths in the city are kept in steady business ensuring young nobles are up-to-date with the latest jewel-encrusted, gilt-coated scimitars, rapiers and short swords. It is common for young and able-bodied Lacerdans to participate in regular hunts on the Faruta Lake. Parties of nobles, usually accompanied by bodyguards, trackers and hunters, occassionally enter the deep jungle, seeking rarer trophies.

A Foreigner's first Impression of Lacerda City...
The palace had haunted my dreams as long as I could remember. A place of glistening azure water courses, towering stone columns topped with the figures of saints, and everywhere, gilt. The wild, baroque splendour of Lacerda, I'd heard it described as. Nobles, merchants, courtiers, courtesans and slaves hurried everywhere. Monkeys and ferrets, some pets and some wild, scurried between them, or perched atop the shoulders of people and statues alike.

And finally I was here. The gondola I'd commissioned eased between a couple of its sister vessels and bumped gently into the sagging wooden dock. The pole-man leapt across and tethered the gondola quickly and expertly, then extended his hand to help me up. I paid the man in golden coins, and plucked a few grapes from the bunch I was eating from and gave them to the monkey perched on his shoulder. I paused before setting off for the court to take in the scene...

A steady flow of traders and other men and women of business filled the narrow streets, going in and out of the various shop fronts set into the yellow-stone walls of the small city. All around was the gleaming azure Faruta lake, and in the distance, the jungle-covered far shore, a sprawling nest of docks and shanties. Above me, criss-crossing ropes hung with un-lit lanterns were strung between the shops and warehouses. Colourful parrots perched there, occassionally decorating the street below, as well as passer-bys, with their effluent. Everyone, both men and women, were clad in brightly-coloured silks, and decorated with gold, silver, bronze and precious stones. Even the slaves wore gleaming golden hoops through their noses, cheeks or ears, often studded with gems. I supposed that these passed for brands here in Lacerda. I stepped into a main thoroughfare, saw that it led in a straight line towards the centre of the city, and, almost certainly, the palace. I could make out what must be the local watch, clad in dark blue silks and white sashes, with white turbans wound about their dark faces. The blue robes almost certainly concealed some sort of armour. Curved swords in golden scabbards were tucked into the sashes, and they walked with an air of arrogance and self-importance.

 

[Rayex]

Presenting: Roland, Sirco and Shuffle.

"I said, STOP it!"
Roland's voice reverbrates through the room, and every head in the room turns to him. He blushes, and sit down by the table and face his 1 companions.
As unlikely a trio as ever, nevertheless they were as close as siblings. Perhaps even more so in some ways.
He eyed Sirco first. The young tiefling, being the only woman among the 3 of them, was - as always - the more cool-headed. Her slight smile and twinkle in her eyes showed him she was only joking, but nevertheless, it always hurt when she made fun of his heritage.
Being a young man of the hated Dragonborn, he was happy he had his friends. He had taken on a role of Big Brother, of sorts. It usually fell to him to decide where to go next, and the other two followed willingly. He had yet to understand why, but for now he was content to take it as a sign of their deep friendship.
Lastly then, the "little brother" of the trio. Shuffle, the quickwitted and never-serious gnome. Roland still don't know much of Shuffle's past, and chose not to ask too many questions.
"I am sorry. I didn't mean to... I mean, You shoulnd't have.. but.." At Sirco's gestured appology, he fall silent. A few moments of silent finger-talk later, the incident is forgotten. Sirco is a mute. At the start, it was hard to communicate, but by using basic gestures and translating it in written form, both Roland and Shuffle now knew enough to communicate with their "sister".
"Anyway. Let's move on. We've got work to do..."
The trio payed for their drink, and went out of the tavern, off for new adventures.


Ok, concept:
Roland, Dragonborn Warlord, is the "Older brother" of the party. Can often be hot-headed, and especially when it comes to his heritage.
Sirco, Tiefling Wizard. She's mute, and relies on finger-talk to communicate. In spite of her handicap though, she is usually the one to talk sense into her two "brothers", like any sensible sister always does.
Shuffle, Gnome Rogue. Reckless, quickwitted and hardly take anything serious. Typical "youngest brother".

Will work more on this though, I liked where this concept took me, once I started thinking more about it.

 

[Rayex]

Couple of questions by the way. What level are you thinking of starting this at?
If one player play several characters, is it OK to play it mostly from 1 of the characters PoV?

 

[Kaodi]

She was a daughter of Faerie, that otherwordly realm of magic and mystery. But by blood she was not accounted as one of the high born, no, she was of a more common breed of the faerie folk. To continue living in a world where she would always be considered inferior was too much, when just across the veil between worlds was a land in which she could be considered a great and noble lady.

She travelled to that other land, Arca Terra it was called, and adopted some of the mannerisms of the noble fairies. Setting aside the traditional warrior paths of the elves, she trained to wield blade and shield, dressed in elaborate mail such as one of the eladrin might wear, though of much poorer quality. It would do to turn away enemy weapons, however, until she could aquire more suitable dress. However, she could not bring herself to put down the curved blades favoured by her kin and pick up the straight edged sword of the noble warriors. At heart she was still an elf, though she pretended otherwise, and the scimitar was more suited to her deadly precision and sharp temperment.

He was a scion of those tainted by the incursion of the legions of Hell. Plagued with a fiery temper, it was difficult to fit in anywhere for very long. Where many of his kin bought into that collective guilt over their ancestors deeds, he had little patience for the mistakes of the past. More concerning was what the curse meant for today, and tomorrow.

He wandered the lands of Arca Terra for many years before stumbling upon an enclave of people living deep in the frontier, a place that would change him forever. Here they worshipped Melora, the goddess of the wild places, and communed with nature in a peculiar sort of peace. It was not that they were not beset by dangers most regularly, but they were at peace with those dangers, with the trials of living. Here he settled down for a while, and studied the ways of Melora with the priests. He learned to embrace his infernal nature, not as something to be loathed, but as something that could bring him closer to the natural world around him, where rage, anger and pain were all a part of life. He took control of his curse, where as before the curse had often taken control of him.

They met while travelling in a caravan back into the desert. She was drawn to him by his, familiarity, owing to his embracing of life, which reminded her in a small way of home. He was drawn to her for a similar reason, a fellow creature who merged both the civilized and the savage, though her otherworldly grace and beauty were of some help. They make a strange couple, perhaps, pulling from opposite ends of a spectrum towards a shared centre.

They cannot be said to be motivated by noble intentions, though perhaps through chance they might accomplish noble deeds. She desires wealth and fame to suit a queen, and there are many who would pay well to be rid of the darkness. He is content to follow her, to guide her in a world that is still alien. If that means some danger, and a chance to eliminate obstacles to a good a natural life, then so much the better.

She is Birel. He is Amnon. Together, they might just change the world.

 

[FloatingDisc]

Hi guys, thanks for your interest!

My internet connection at home is down at the moment, will try to get it fixed tomorrow, so sorry for the slow reply.

In answer to your question, Rayex, I think that's probably a good idea. Let's run with that for now. I like your character ideas, particularly impressed that my spiel about dragonborn being fairly roundly hated in the setting didn't put you off making one!

I'm starting to think two PCs will probably be easier for all concerned as well, which of your three concepts would you choose? I like the idea of having a bruiser (Roland) matched with one of the others, but have a think about it.

Kaodi, I really, really like your concept. Really nicely considered motivations and backgrounds, and the characters are just solid. I see big things ahead for Amnon and Birel! Birel particularly fits into the short story arc I've developed for the beginning.

Thanks to both of you for embracing the somewhat odd concepts in the setting with your choice of characters, I'll leave the thread open for a little while longer to see if there's any other interest, then I'll make my decision.

As a final note, does anyone have any comments to make on the setting, or suggestions for things they'd change or improve?

 

[Rayex]

Hi guys, thanks for your interest!

My internet connection at home is down at the moment, will try to get it fixed tomorrow, so sorry for the slow reply.

In answer to your question, Rayex, I think that's probably a good idea. Let's run with that for now. I like your character ideas, particularly impressed that my spiel about dragonborn being fairly roundly hated in the setting didn't put you off making one!

I'm starting to think two PCs will probably be easier for all concerned as well, which of your three concepts would you choose? I like the idea of having a bruiser (Roland) matched with one of the others, but have a think about it.

With only 2, I'd go with Roland and Sirco. However, I'll change her out for a Warlock then. More or less the same concept, really, only a slightly different focus for her talents. And the "dragonborn being hated" was the reason I made one, actually.
I'll sit down a bit later and work more on the "siblings". As for her being a mute, is that OK? I'm not sure it should have any effect on the mechanics, but it will influence her relationship with Roland, certainly.

 

[Dire Lemming]

This game looks pretty interesting. I have a character that I've tried to use in two games previously, but they both ended before they got anywhere. He's actually the Halfling Paladin pre-made character from one of the previews, but I've tried to give him some character, and I think he would fit with the setting. Here's his background and description. I can alter it to fit the setting a bit better of course, but I just wanted to express my interest first.


No one would ever have believed Corrin could become a Paladin had they known him as a child. His parents, both adventurers had left him behind during one of their quests and were never seen again. At first he took to trying to steal for his survival, but after several getaways that seemed the results of pure luck, he decided he needed to try things another way. He realized that it was in fact far safer, and far more efficient, to convince others to do the stealing for him, sometimes even buy things for him legitimately. He formed a small gang of street urchins, who quickly became a menace to merchants throughout the poorer districts of the Miisk, though he was always careful to keep their connections to each other from being too obvious.

To this day, he is unsure of just what happened that night, but it was so long ago that it likely no longer matters. By this point, his gang had become quite a bit larger, and he had become a young man, or well, Halfling. In any case, he and several compatriots were settled into their hideout, enjoying the day’s spoils. They had actually started to make some money out of this, rather than simply scraping by. They had invited over a few of ladies of ill repute from a nearby brothel and were having a good time, when a sudden loud knock came on the door. Everyone stopped to stare at the door, and after a moment there was another sound. The sound of an axe hacking into wood, and the sight of a metal blade coming through the door. The group stared for but a moment longer and then quickly panicked and ran for the back door. Corrin, with his short legs did not reach it first, and it saved his live. For as he watched, that door was smashed inwards, and a massive humanoid barged in, grabbing one of his friends by the head and tossing him aside like a ragdoll. Everyone was screaming, and Corrin is sure to this day that it was the intervention of the goddess of luck herself that got him out of there alive. He certainly doesn’t remember it. All he remembers is running over rooftops with wild abandon and then falling through an open skylight into hot soapy water. He couldn’t breath. Was it the water, or was it because his face was buried in something soft and warm? He felt himself being lifted out of the water, and realized to his (slight) embarrassment, that he had disturbed a human woman in her bath. She looked at him with an expression halfway between anger and amusement, and it was fairly clear that she wasn’t quite sure what to think of the young Halfling who had just fallen face first on her chest while she bathed.

Corrin quickly came to the conclusion that his very survival might well depend on getting into this woman’s good graces, and that was one thing he was good at. Aside from her ridiculous height, she was pretty good looking too, so he figured he could get away with a bit of flattery even if she wasn’t as dumb as the women he usually associated with. He looked down at himself, sopping wet and soapy from head to toe, not that she was any less of either, but he was fully clothed. He looked back up at the woman and smiled sheepishly. “I do not know whether I should apologize, or thank Dibella for that stumble, my lady. It seems sure that The Lady of Luck herself has ordained that I should fall through your ceiling and to be saved from certain doom by your most exquisite form. My name is Corrin, Lady, I would be honored if you would share yours.”

The woman watched him curiously, having quickly covered herself with a towel once she had extricated the bewildered Halfling from between her bosoms. She smiled at his overdone flattery, perhaps because it amused her, even more so because it sounded so sincere (And certainly, quite a bit of it was). “And what do you know of my mistress?” The lady asked, taking Corrin completely by surprise.

A priestess, this could be either very good, or very bad for him. In any case, he would have to use all of his charm, and show his piety. He did, quite well, and in the morning he was still alive, and had made a new and important acquaintance, one that would influence his life from then on. Sophia had gotten into his mind. Made him think of thinks in a way he never had before. She introduced him to one Sir Carell, a Paladin of the Order of the Lilly in service of Dibella and he too eventually became a Paladin in service of the goddess of beauty and luck.

Having quickly realized that the church had little for him to do once he had become a full knight, he decided to find something on his own, and quickly realized that the one place that could use his new power the most was the very section of the city in which he grew up. He explained the situation to his superiors in the Order of the Lilly, and though they had some misgivings, they eventually consented. He quickly collected his few belongings and left.


Corrin is a bit stocky for a Halfling, fairly muscular, and very handsome. He has long dark hair, and tanned skin, and he wears a seemingly perpetual smile under his brown eyes. Most of this is usually very hard to see, thanks to his use of full plate armor.



Corrin has a friendly, seemingly carefree personality that servants of stuffier religions would likely find offensive. However, he always tries to maintain civility, even to his adversaries. He is not an intellectual by any stretch of the imagination, but has a good innate sense for things that often helps him where careful thought can’t or wouldn’t. He unfortunately has a rather bad weakness for members of the opposite sex, of most any race.

 

[FloatingDisc]

Thanks, Dire Lemming, that's really cool. You're definitely in for consideration!

My internet connection seems to have returned (at least for now), so I'll just ask one more thing of the 3 prospective players:

What is your character doing in Lacerda City, border-town between the jungle and the desert? If you don't have time or don't feel like coming up with one I don't mind inventing one, but I'd like for the prospective player to have as much influence on the story as possible!

Some suggestions include:
Being auctioned off on the slave block
A shipwreck survivor, rescued by a fisherman

And of course there's always the old staples of being travelling mercenaries, cavaran guards, etc.

 

[Kaodi]

To briefly outline...

Birel was definitely working to make a living as a caravan guard, though there is an element of taking the opportunity to travel the world. While the terrain might look more or less like it does back in Faerie, that realm is by far the more dangerous to travellers, so she is making the most of her time spent doing less glamourous work that should one day be below her.

Amnon had a sense of moving back " home " now that he has come to terms with himself. But he is not really sure if he wants to head back into the desert from wence he came.

The journey here was long, and rather unpleasant. They are not eager to start another long trek, though if the price is right they would. So, they are on the look out for local work, and maybe some excitement. Fame requires marvelous deeds, after all.

Of course, if you want something a little more spicy, perhaps the caravan they were travelling with was attacked and destroyed by a lamia ready to give birth to another of her kind. The monster and her doppelganger minions (who had been impersonating other caravan members) killed most of their companions, and Birel was being eaten alive by the scarab swarm when she was pulled to safety by Amnon, and the two managed to retreat on a pair of horses that had been pulling the wagons. The lamia, enraged that Birel, the fey creature she was after in order to give birth, was getting away, gave chase. But fortunately Amnon had taken the only two mounts not injured or slain in the fighting.

They made it Lacerda, but Birel was in horrible shape and close to death. Her shield arm had been ruined by the beetles, and legs and feet chewed nearly to the bone. She would not even have survived at all had Amnon not been a healer, but his magic was not strong enough to restore her. In another time, he might have left her like that, clinging to life, but he instead managed to obtain the services of a more powerful healer that could use a ritual that would restore his fairy companion. But the price was steep. He had to sell all of their gear, as well as sign them into slavery in order to pay the costs of the ritual.

Birel, who had been unconscious since a short while after fleeing the lamia, woke up to find herself and Amnon on the auction block. She was, not impressed, but she knew that the tiefling had done it to save her While looking at her whole body, she could vaguely recall seeing the mess that had been her arm and legs before passing out. So she did not complain. Bitterly. At least as a small comfort, Amnon had been able to stipulate that they be sold as a pair or not at all.